


They Can Only Watch

by JustAnotherGeekyAuthor



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, God has no gender, all the characters I'm not tagging everyone, pre- and post- promised day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29075697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherGeekyAuthor/pseuds/JustAnotherGeekyAuthor
Summary: Truth is not all-knowing. All-seeing, yes, but not all-knowing. There are things which cannot be observed: the inner workings of the mind and soul. This Truth does not know, and so Truth watches, and with their near-infinite knowledge, they wait for those souls to come back into their possession so they might learn what they were thinking then.But while they live, Truth can only watch.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Truth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	1. Part 1

There is a being of many names. God, The World, Truth, All, One, and You. The ignorant call it God; those who have encountered it call it Truth. None and all of these names apply, but Truth will suffice for now.

Truth is not human, and yet they are. Their knowledge is limitless, and with each soul that passes through their realm again and again they gain memories, become intimate with the realities of humanity. In a sense, they are more human than anyone. They know pain, and they know joy, but most of all they know justice.

There are rules that Truth must follow. Equivalent Exchange; nothing is without a price. Matter cannot be created from nothing, nor can it be truly destroyed. The same is true of energy, though not quite in the same fashion. 

There is excess, in alchemic reactions. Energy that dissipates into the world, residue left behind after a transmutation. This is chalked up to basic thermodynamics by most researchers in Amestris; in Xerxes, however, there was a different theory entirely, one which was never proven but was, nonetheless, true. Those sparks of energy, residual excess, are returned to Truth; tiny amounts of energy, accumulating over millions of years. This is what gives Truth their power.

Truth is not devoid of emotion. They feel compassion, certainly, but this does not stop them from taking a young boy’s body, and his brother’s leg, in exchange for something with no true equivalent.

The soul has no equivalent, either. This is where Truth can bend the rules. They take an arm; something non-critical, something that will allow the boy to live just a bit longer, to perhaps fix some of the mess which was made. They give the boys knowledge, so that they might find a way to beat them someday. Truth looks forward to it.

Truth is not all-knowing. All-seeing, yes, but not all-knowing. There are things which cannot be observed: the inner workings of the mind and soul. This Truth does not know, and so Truth watches, and with their near-infinite knowledge, they wait for those souls to come back into their possession so they might learn what they were thinking then.

But while they live, Truth can only watch.

They watch, and wait, and when Edward Elric passes through their realm a third time they take no toll. The knowledge of Gluttony’s inner workings, a realm Truth could not see into, is payment enough. Edward doesn’t realize how much he is giving with the few scant sentences that pour out of his mouth, but it is enough.

Does he realize how much value he holds? The things only he can do, the techniques he’s invented? 

Truth can only wait and see.

Truth is not emotionless. They are lonely, sometimes, even with the constant flow of souls caught between their death and rebirth. They know what it is to be human, and sometimes they crave that, and Alphonse Elric is running short on time anyway.

Normally, a soul would be pulled back to its body all at once, with no warning at all. But Truth can bend the rules a little here, just this once. They don’t talk to Alphonse, exactly, but they watch Al speak to his barely-functional body, and apologise as he returns to fight once again. 

Truth has bought him more time. They continue watching. 

And then everything  **stops.**

They are trapped. Their energy, built up over millions of years, is in the hands of another, and they can only watch. Souls, screaming, clash against their white-walled mind, and they can only watch. For the first time, they are powerless.

Nothing comes without a price. As such, no good deed goes without reward.

By the power of a philosopher’s stone, Truth is nearly freed. A single soul ties them down, fighting to keep their power contained. Truth reaches out—almost, not quite, so close—and a sabotage by a Homunculus, and a punch to the stomach, and Truth is free.

Alphonse is sitting in their realm, back in his body, smiling. A trade has been made; a soul for an arm.

The rules go on, even when Truth is not there to enforce them. 

A soul has no equivalent. They could return Edward’s leg, for no extra cost, but they refrain only because the leg is weak, not fit to fight on, and Ed needs to stay upright.

Curious, Truth watches.

And Edward has returned to their realm. 

The Gate is more than a conduit. It is energy, stored over the course of a lifetime, a million little things built up to become the source of Edward’s alchemy. To give it up is equivalent to far more than Al’s body and soul, but Edward does not ask for more. 

Truth stops him. 

They say, You have something else I want. 

They explain how knowledge has value.

Ed and Al leave, both their bodies and their alchemy intact, and Truth has Edward’s memory of his time in Gluttony’s stomach. 

They return victorious, and Truth can only watch. 


	2. Part 2

Truth is, in short, an arbiter of justice. Their deals may not seem fair, always, but they are equal. Always something is gained to replace what is lost, though not always what the alchemist intended. Nevertheless, the essence of trade is equivalence, and that is a rule Truth cannot break.

This is not equivalent.

For a transmutation carried out in all but the final step by another, Roy Mustang loses his eyesight. His eyesight, because he cannot afford to be injured now when he is needed to fight, and Truth can take his sight with no blood left behind. Because sight is something of little value, in Truth’s domain, and a finger would be enough to take it back.

But Mustang does not come to ask.

He asks Marcoh to heal him with a Philosopher’s Stone. It would have worked, had he lost his sight to injury or infection, but once Truth has taken something the only way to get it back is the same way it was lost. Mustang does not come to ask. He considers it; Truth sees him sketch out the beginning of a human transmutation circle, but it is never completed. 

This is injustice. 

Truth has no sway in the physical world. They can only watch, and wait for the few humans who are brave (or stupid) enough to seek them out. Usually, there is nothing they can do.

Usually, they do not owe a life debt to a human. Usually, no human has been to Truth’s realm more than once in their lifetime.

It has been two weeks since the Promised Day. Roy Mustang has resigned himself to living the rest of his life blind. Edward and Alphonse Elric will be released from the hospital in the next few days. There is no more time to wait.

Usually, humans must choose to enter Truth’s realm. Apparently, this no longer holds true when they have come through the Gate four times and counting.

So Truth latches on to Edward Elric’s soul, and pulls.

* * *

They stand across from each other in the endless white, Ed’s gate at his back. Ed shouts, demanding why he’s back here again, after everything is over. He paces and rants, and Truth stops him with a raised hand, asking silently for calm. 

I need a favor, Truth says. 

Ed listens. 

Ed returns to his and Al’s room carrying a deal, a promise: Bring me Roy Mustang, and your leg will be returned. 

It’s no trouble, at this point. Al’s soul was worth more. 

Ed rushes through his explanation to Al, then in the pre-dawn light he sprints down the hospital hallways to Mustang’s room. Mustang is awake, of course, has been for hours. He gives Mustang no time to ask questions, just claps his hands and touches his arm, and they’re both in Truth’s domain again.

(That was another thing Truth gave him, another piece of knowledge. Human Transmutation needs to be drawn out, but there are other, more direct ways of entering Truth’s domain.)

The deal Truth offers is simple. Mustang’s flame alchemy, which he refined greatly from what his teacher devised, in exchange for the return of his sight. 

And if Ed leaves with that knowledge as well as his leg, well, no one needs to know.

Truth implies, but does not say (because that would be a deal, that would need some equivalent), that they would like to pass judgement on those who forced Mustang to perform human transmutation. 

Ed happily complies. When he and Al are released, strong enough to walk on their own, they track down the few living members of Bradley’s brass, and Ed sends them off to have a friendly chat with Truth. Those who return have lost something, in exchange for knowledge they will never be able to use. 

The rules cannot be broken, but Truth can bend them, and they can bring harm just as easily as they avoid it. 

Their souls will have a second chance in the next life. Maybe the lesson will even stick. 

For now, the world is balanced again. 


End file.
